- What is the scope of digital marketing? Are companies hiring?
- What are the job prospects in digital marketing?
- What types of job positions are there in Digital Marketing? What will be my job profile?
- What is the salary structure of a digital marketer?
- Do I have to be an engineer or MBA to become a good digital marketer?
Lets discuss each of these questions in detail.
The scope of digital marketing
Globally, about 60% businesses use some form of digital marketing. According to my estimation, in India at least 18% of marketing budget of businesses is invested in online marketing. According to a study conducted by emarketer.com, these are the estimates of spending on digital marketing in India and the projected spending converted to dollars at the rate of approximately Rs 64= $ 1.
Marketing has changed. Advertising no longer has the impact that messaging and engagement does. As a result, businesses are changing their techniques to reach out to prospects. They are visible on social media platforms, creating content and engaging with prospects. The conventional method is now not so effective because businesses have to reach out to prospects where they already are, like on social platforms. So, here steps in the suave digital marketer who understands how the platform work, engages with the prospects and takes them from the journey of a prospect to a MQL (Marketing Qualified Lead).
In a survey conducted by Deloitte Digital and The CMO almost 57% of the marketing budget is allocated to social media and other channels of digital marketing. Another 41% is spent on analytics, which is an integral part of online marketing. Of course the costs of B2C are higher but B2B lags only partially behind at 51% of its marketing costs being spend on social media, LinkedIn being the primary channel.
Overall Marketing Budget Breakdown
Contrary to perception digital marketing is not limited to businesses. Though of course, every business, be it a startup, an entrepreneur, a large business house or even Bollywood has a budget for digital marketing. Doctors, lawyers and other professionals use digital marketing to build their online reputation. [Example portea.com] A beautician uses digital marketing to get reviews of her service and consequently attract customers. Apps like Urban Clap are an example of this. Political parties use digital marketing and social media platforms to build their follower base. This is visible in our day-to-day lives.
When companies are spending so much on digital marketing they require professionals to handle their companies and marketing efforts. The scope of digital marketing is immense. Companies are hiring left and right, snapping up trained professionals because there is a scarcity.
Job prospects in digital marketing
“Snapdeal is bankrupt, Flipkart is struggling, only Amazon is making profit so ecommerce is just a bubble that is going to go burst.” This is a myth. The trends for digital marketing are rising and here are the stats to prove it.
According to Live Mint, the share of digital payment transaction in India will increase to 30-40% of total transactions by 2020 from 13% in 2015. The government’s demonetization step and Digital India initiative has given a sudden push to it.
According to a report jointly conducted by ASSOCHAM and Deloitte the number of active internet users in India it is expected to reach 600 million by 2020. According to a report published by the Internet and Mobile Association of India (IAMAI) and Market Research firm IMRB, there is 60% internet penetration in urban India and 17% in rural India.
This means that about 750 million potential consumers are yet to come on this platform. These stats were confirmed when recently Boston Consultancy Group in its report has projected that 50% of India’s internet users will be rural. Imagine the size of business reach. The growth prospect is much faster than it is in the urban areas. This means increased scope for digital marketers and maybe in vernacular or regional languages. This translates into demand for well-trained and highly skilled professional digital marketers.
This is the size of the market. When the size of the market is huge, companies follow. They are hiring. They require both generalists and specialists. What is interesting is that India is considered to be in the nascent stage as far as digital marketing is concerned, yet the demand for specialists is high.
Demand for Digital Marketing Specialists In India
With digital marketing being so vast, the requirement of various digital marketing specialists with professional approach and marketing perception can easily be understood. More than 16000 jobs on Shine.com and 22,000 jobs on Naukri.com and other job sites can be found for digital marketing listings on usual basis. The above data is taken and compiled from these sites.
Job profiles and positions of digital marketers
Lets now discuss the positions and job profiles available in digital marketing. Digital marketing works on 2 levels. One is the generalist and the other is specialist level. On the generalist level there are two positions, one as a beginner where you have to handle complete digital marketing of the business. The other, were you are the head of marketing and you use your overall knowledge to guide your team to deliver results.
On the specialist level you may be working for an agency or corporate house. Some corporate houses have a complete in-house digital marketing department and there are complete hierarchical structures. Some have a department but outsource part of the work to agencies. They require managers to manage all aspects of the marketing campaign.
The actual nature and position depends upon the industry. In the manufacturing industry the job profile maybe low key, while in the advertising and marketing industry the job is high profile and CMOs with digital marketing experience are preferred. The ad below is taken from LinkedIn where Dominoes Pizza is looking for someone with advanced digital skills to develop its user interface. How exciting can it get!!!
Image Credits: Screenshot from LinkedIn
In the table below are listed some of the high paying positions [Rs 800,000 and above per annum] for a career in digital marketing after 5 years of experience on an average.
| Email Marketer | Digital Marketing Manager |
| Inbound Marketing, Manager | Display Advertising Specialist |
| SEO Specialist, Manager | SEM (Search Engine Marketer) |
| SMM Specialist, Manager | PPC Manager |
| Content writing, Manager | Content writer |
| Conversion Rate Optimizer | Digital Marketing Analyst |
These categories also can have sub-categories according to business need and business model. But all these categories require professional level expertise.
The issue is that a lot of professionals do not understand what digital marketing will involve. This results in ads like these: 
Image credits: Screenshot of job listing on naukri.com
A professional with so many skills and 13 years of experience will never be available at the salary mentioned. Listings like these lead to perceptions that digital marketing jobs do not pay well.
Pay and salary in digital marketing
Salary is the great propeller that motivates us to perform exceptionally and digital marketing is no exception. Every job position requires specific skills and every skill demands an expertise. As a beginner with no experience in this field you can earn somewhere around 3 lakhs in metropolitan area which is similar to the salary of engineers recruited by companies.
Image: Screenshot of job listing on naukri.com
After a few years of experience your salary rises and your promotion is faster because currently there is a scarcity of digital marketers. Compared to other professionals the salary rise is almost meteorical.
Image: Screenshot of job listing on naukri.com
As a head of digital marketing you can make about 35 to 50 lakhs per annum. 
Image: Screenshot of job listing on naukri.com
This amount is so much more than what most professionals make. One of the reasons digital marketing pays well is because the ROIs can easily be attributed rightly to marketing campaigns due to analytics. Due to this ability some companies have a low salary but have included PLIs [performance linked incentives] in their operations.
A lot of professionals are changing careers or adding digital marketing skills to their profile. This is because the salary rises with the newly acquired skills.
Comparative pay scale for those who learn digital marketing
The above graph was compiled using 3 years of data on payscale.com. Knowledge of digital marketing helps in career development. This is proved by the difference in salaries as compared with management students and MCA students.
No technical or professional degrees required
There is another myth surrounding digital marketing. Lots of people think that its suitable only for MBA and engineering professionals. This is untrue. Digital marketing encompasses many fields like content, analytics, paid search advertising, social interaction and so much more. There is a place for anyone with a lot energy, inquisitiveness and agility to work with full dedication. The learning curve exists but with help from peers you can cross it. Holding an MBA or other degree can help you in attaining an earlier identity in market but here your work speaks much louder than your academic qualifications. In the long run it is your skill, your credibility of perfection only what will work for making all your wishes happen you have ever wished for.
I hope this article by DMIOA will help you overcome your doubt and hesitations about job availability and future scope for making a promising career in Digital Marketing field. India is turning out to be one of the largest outsourcing hubs in the field of Digital Marketing and this is only a beginning. Take charge of your life and Go Digital, a tremendous career opportunities are awaiting all Digital Marketing enthusiasts.
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